Commissioners turn down rezoning for Dollar General store

Published: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 12:13 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 12:13 p.m.

Agreeing with residents concerned about traffic safety and commercial uses in their rural neighborhood, county commissioners denied a rezoning request Wednesday that would have allowed a Dollar General store in Horse Shoe.

The board voted 5-0 to turn down a request from The Broadway Group, an Alabama-based development company that represents Dollar General, to rezone 1.71 acres next to Horse Shoe First Baptist Church from rural residential to community commercial conditional.

Commissioner Mike Edney made the motion to deny the rezoning, saying he wasn’t comfortable that the store wasn’t going to cause harm in the community.

“I’m very much pro-business and I think personal property rights are paramount and what helped make this country great,” Edney said. “But I always have to draw the line that you can’t do something with your property that’s going to hurt somebody else close to you.”

About 50 Horse Shoe residents signed petitions opposing the rezoning. Three people spoke against the proposal Wednesday, citing concerns about traffic safety, stormwater runoff, potential alcohol sales and the store’s incompatibility with surrounding land uses.

Several commissioners seemed reluctant to approve commercial zoning in an area where it was precluded by the Etowah-Horse Shoe Community Plan. That community-based planning process began in 2007 and was approved by the board in 2009.

“We, as county commissioners, have set up here and have said for a long time that we don’t micromanage any community,” said Chairman Charlie Messer. “And that’s where we’re at.”

Commissioner Grady Hawkins agreed, saying there probably would be a time when the Etowah-Horse Shoe plan is reviewed.

“But I think it’s too early to go back and start making adjustments to the community’s plan,” he said.

Last month, commissioners deferred action on the rezoning request until The Broadway Group performed a traffic impact study, based on locals’ claims that the stretch of U.S. Highway 64 near Banner Farm Road was too dangerous for a new retail entrance. A study by J.M Teague Engineering found the store would have minimal effect on traffic.

“We do not believe the development will create a negative impact on the existing roadway network,” Engineer Mark Teague told commissioners, adding that adjusting the timing of a traffic signal at the Banner Farm Road intersection would discourage traffic backups.

But residents and some commissioners questioned the thoroughness of Teague’s study. Told by nearby neighbors that they’d seen engineers counting traffic for just two hours on April 10, board members pressed Teague about how long his firm actually spent on his study.

If you count all his administrative work, 60 to 80 hours, Teague said. Prodded by Vice Chairman Tommy Thompson, Teague said he or his assistant were on site counting vehicles for about nine hours total, tallying peak traffic for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, plus another short visit each.

“So essentially, you get your two busiest times of the weekday, which is industry standard for any kind of traffic study,” Teague said.

Asked by Hawkins how he estimated cars turning into a nonexistent store entrance, Teague said he relied on a trip generation manual used by highway engineers. A 9,100-square-foot dollar store would generate about 521 trips per day, he said, with about 10 percent of daily traffic entering and leaving the store’s entrance during peak hours.

“As you go through this study, it has a lot of generic input into it,” Hawkins said. “I think it’s — in some areas — shallow. And it’s not convincing me that there’s not a traffic safety problem out there, so I’d support Mr. Edney’s motion.”

Commissioner Larry Young agreed, saying, “I just don’t think this is the place for this, unless the state or somebody is willing to do a lot of traffic pattern changes and do some turn lanes and stuff they don’t have out there.”

<p>Agreeing with residents concerned about traffic safety and commercial uses in their rural neighborhood, county commissioners denied a rezoning request Wednesday that would have allowed a Dollar General store in Horse Shoe.</p><p>The board voted 5-0 to turn down a request from The Broadway Group, an Alabama-based development company that represents Dollar General, to rezone 1.71 acres next to Horse Shoe First Baptist Church from rural residential to community commercial conditional.</p><p>Commissioner Mike Edney made the motion to deny the rezoning, saying he wasn't comfortable that the store wasn't going to cause harm in the community. </p><p>“I'm very much pro-business and I think personal property rights are paramount and what helped make this country great,” Edney said. “But I always have to draw the line that you can't do something with your property that's going to hurt somebody else close to you.”</p><p>About 50 Horse Shoe residents signed petitions opposing the rezoning. Three people spoke against the proposal Wednesday, citing concerns about traffic safety, stormwater runoff, potential alcohol sales and the store's incompatibility with surrounding land uses. </p><p>Several commissioners seemed reluctant to approve commercial zoning in an area where it was precluded by the Etowah-Horse Shoe Community Plan. That community-based planning process began in 2007 and was approved by the board in 2009.</p><p>“We, as county commissioners, have set up here and have said for a long time that we don't micromanage any community,” said Chairman Charlie Messer. “And that's where we're at.”</p><p>Commissioner Grady Hawkins agreed, saying there probably would be a time when the Etowah-Horse Shoe plan is reviewed. </p><p>“But I think it's too early to go back and start making adjustments to the community's plan,” he said.</p><p>Last month, commissioners deferred action on the rezoning request until The Broadway Group performed a traffic impact study, based on locals' claims that the stretch of U.S. Highway 64 near Banner Farm Road was too dangerous for a new retail entrance. A study by J.M Teague Engineering found the store would have minimal effect on traffic.</p><p>“We do not believe the development will create a negative impact on the existing roadway network,” Engineer Mark Teague told commissioners, adding that adjusting the timing of a traffic signal at the Banner Farm Road intersection would discourage traffic backups.</p><p>But residents and some commissioners questioned the thoroughness of Teague's study. Told by nearby neighbors that they'd seen engineers counting traffic for just two hours on April 10, board members pressed Teague about how long his firm actually spent on his study. </p><p>If you count all his administrative work, 60 to 80 hours, Teague said. Prodded by Vice Chairman Tommy Thompson, Teague said he or his assistant were on site counting vehicles for about nine hours total, tallying peak traffic for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, plus another short visit each.</p><p>“So essentially, you get your two busiest times of the weekday, which is industry standard for any kind of traffic study,” Teague said. </p><p>Asked by Hawkins how he estimated cars turning into a nonexistent store entrance, Teague said he relied on a trip generation manual used by highway engineers. A 9,100-square-foot dollar store would generate about 521 trips per day, he said, with about 10 percent of daily traffic entering and leaving the store's entrance during peak hours.</p><p>“As you go through this study, it has a lot of generic input into it,” Hawkins said. “I think it's — in some areas — shallow. And it's not convincing me that there's not a traffic safety problem out there, so I'd support Mr. Edney's motion.”</p><p>Commissioner Larry Young agreed, saying, “I just don't think this is the place for this, unless the state or somebody is willing to do a lot of traffic pattern changes and do some turn lanes and stuff they don't have out there.” </p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>